journeying with a closed road

journeying with a closed road

7 months have passed with changes in the condtion of the road with cracks widening and slumping occuring slowly.

Now it’s time to investigate with a million dollar drilling machine using water as part of the process going down through the rock layers… not able to reach 20 mitres for the first hole beause the drill head had a piece sheared off. There will be drilling happening for 2 days probably on a second hole as the machine is due to go to Bleheim for starting to work Monday. Yesterday an excavator dug 2 holes then covered them up again while I was away for the day… all looking to see what is underneath the cracked earth.

People still journey past on various things like feet, bicycles and quads leaving the road surface affected. It’s hunting time with the roar so we continue to watch and wait , wondering who we will meet next and when there will be any changes to access so that it becomes unsafe to venture over the unstable area. Surveyors keep a fortnightly watch on the area with their measurements showing any changes. A gate has been installed which has made it easier to get to and fro with shopping as we take the buggy and trolley to the car.

How do we live like this? challenges come in many ways, recently it is finding ducks attacked and I saw the reason this morning as a large dark brown bird flew away from the upper duck run where all the young ones are…could be a hawk who killed the one I found today. do I bury it or not? The first one we found had a bloody head so we took it out of misery before a trip to wellington on Wednesday. Killing is part of living in these places… with all the pests that we have caught in traps over the years but a hawk is a different story… what now?

I walk, enjoying doing so again after purchasing some new tramping boots from Mackpak… Scarpa’s a light with lots of tread. My backpack has been fixed and fitted so that makes carrying things to and from seem easier even though it takes a lot of room on the bus I found when I headed to Paraparaumu yesterday, This is my life, being adaptable and cheerful, glad to be in this beautiful place. There’s plenty to occupy us on the land with garden mulching, pest control and the like and the occasional trip on the bike to the end of the road to check toilets… that’s a good opportunity to be reminded that staying has meant we have tracks open, grass under control and pruning getting done. I team of workers will be needed to get things in order in days ahead with the DOC facilities I am sure. They are still being used, in reduced numbers of course but people are enjoying the walk.